1934 Packard Model 1101 Eight Club Sedan
Packard captured approximately 42% of the luxury car market in 1934, a figure that sounds impressive until you consider the full picture: the entire luxury segment had contracted so severely during the Depression that Packard’s total production for the year was roughly 8,000 cars across its various Eight, Super Eight, and Twelve models.
Marmon had already ceased automobile production in 1933, Peerless had exited automobile manufacturing earlier in the decade, and Pierce-Arrow was not far behind.
The Model 1101 sat at the entry point of Packard’s 1934 lineup, powered by a 320 ci L-head inline eight producing 120 bhp at 3,200 rpm through a single two-barrel carburetor and three-speed manual transmission.
Despite occupying the lower rung of the Eleventh Series hierarchy, the 1101 wore the same visual language as its more expensive siblings: the vee-shaped radiator shell with vertical grille bars (a theme carried since 1932), vee’d headlight lenses, and the distinctive sweep of the fender and beltline moldings that defined early-1930s Packard design.
Raymond Dietrich had earlier influenced Packard body design, while in-house designers under Werner Gubitz were responsible for production execution during this period. Wheelbase for the 1101 measured 129 inches, with curb weight typically around 4,200 pounds (1,905 kg), depending on body style.
The Club Sedan configuration offered a formal, well-proportioned closed body with the intimate cabin dimensions that suited private ownership over chauffeur-driven use (a practical expression of Packard’s conservative elegance during one of the American automobile industry’s most difficult years).
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